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COMMERCIAL COMPETITION.
E. FRANK PETERSON.
COMMENCEMENT ORATION, 1802.
--------------------
Some notions regarding our economic constitution
have become so thoroughly implanted in
the minds of men during the progress of centuries
that they are looked upon as axiomatic, and from
their very nature necessarily very true. Ridicule
or the smile of contempt is often the reward of the
one who ventures to question these assumptions
which the world has long since decided to be correct.
Such a notion is the subject of our discussion.
And is it not a sign of weakness, or a symptom of
that light form of insanity which enthuses the
crank to question the assumption, almost universally
accepted, that competition is a good thing? Yet
leaders in the world of thought are not so sure of
this as they were. Those who can read the handwriting
on the wall are slowly and painfully becoming
convinced that the foundations upon which
this time-honored maxim has rested are tottering
and about to fall. True, the majority can not
read, and writers and thinkers on economic questions
still cling to the old faith; but it is a faltering
faith, and here and there we hear the voice of
some one of them, bolder than the rest, reaching
out and searching for a better support. Let us read
with them and sec whether we can interpret the
mystic symbols.
We are in the midst of an important economic
transition, "one of those sharply accented passages
in the track of the centuries where the features of
the road undergo a marked change." The simple
spinning wheel and hand loom have been displaced
by the cotton and woolen factory with all its elaborate
machinery, steam and electricity supply cheap
motive power, and the telegraph has practically
annihilated distance in communication between
different parts of the commercial world. Everywhere
modern science enables us to produce cheaply
on a large scale. It is not surprising then that
self-interest points to a union of forces when it is
seen that in that direction lies gain.
As a rule men do not engage in commercial or industrial
pursuits from any philanthropic feelings
toward their fellows. It is only natural that the
merchant, manufacturer, or producer should push
his own interests and seek his own gain even to the
detriment of those who have engaged in the same
line of business or industry as himself. He does
not do this from any feelings of ill-will or desire to
injure his rival; but both cannot pluck the same
plum. His selfishness prompts him to secure that
plum if he can. In doing so he is only following
out the law of his being. Were it not to his advantage,
or thought to be so, this same selfishness
would point to another course of action. On the
other hand it is from no motives of good-will or
feelings of brotherly affection that rivals in trade
or manufacture associate or consolidate in order to
put an end to competition. In this or that direction
lies the greatest advantage to be gained, and
in this or that direction self-interest conducts business.
Nor does the stronger associate or consolidate
with the weaker in order not to exterminate
him. He would do so if he could with profit. But
by giving the weaker a share the stronger thereby
increases his own gain.
But the combinations and business consolidations
on the stupendous scale characteristic of the present
are of very modern origin. This is not because
our ancestors failed to see the enormous waste of
human energy brought about by competition. They
were keenly alive to the fact that a large part of
the labor expended in production and commerce
was lost from lack of a more perfect system. They
understood equalry well the denominating power
of the selfish motives of men which, under those

Images from this collection may be downloaded for non-commercial educational and research purposes on the condition that The University of South Dakota, Archives and Special Collections is credited as the source. For permission to use a particular item for any other purpose, such as publishing, video production, exhibits, product presentations, interior design, or advertising, you must contact The University of South Dakota, Archives and Special Collections. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright.

COMMERCIAL COMPETITION.
E. FRANK PETERSON.
COMMENCEMENT ORATION, 1802.
--------------------
Some notions regarding our economic constitution
have become so thoroughly implanted in
the minds of men during the progress of centuries
that they are looked upon as axiomatic, and from
their very nature necessarily very true. Ridicule
or the smile of contempt is often the reward of the
one who ventures to question these assumptions
which the world has long since decided to be correct.
Such a notion is the subject of our discussion.
And is it not a sign of weakness, or a symptom of
that light form of insanity which enthuses the
crank to question the assumption, almost universally
accepted, that competition is a good thing? Yet
leaders in the world of thought are not so sure of
this as they were. Those who can read the handwriting
on the wall are slowly and painfully becoming
convinced that the foundations upon which
this time-honored maxim has rested are tottering
and about to fall. True, the majority can not
read, and writers and thinkers on economic questions
still cling to the old faith; but it is a faltering
faith, and here and there we hear the voice of
some one of them, bolder than the rest, reaching
out and searching for a better support. Let us read
with them and sec whether we can interpret the
mystic symbols.
We are in the midst of an important economic
transition, "one of those sharply accented passages
in the track of the centuries where the features of
the road undergo a marked change." The simple
spinning wheel and hand loom have been displaced
by the cotton and woolen factory with all its elaborate
machinery, steam and electricity supply cheap
motive power, and the telegraph has practically
annihilated distance in communication between
different parts of the commercial world. Everywhere
modern science enables us to produce cheaply
on a large scale. It is not surprising then that
self-interest points to a union of forces when it is
seen that in that direction lies gain.
As a rule men do not engage in commercial or industrial
pursuits from any philanthropic feelings
toward their fellows. It is only natural that the
merchant, manufacturer, or producer should push
his own interests and seek his own gain even to the
detriment of those who have engaged in the same
line of business or industry as himself. He does
not do this from any feelings of ill-will or desire to
injure his rival; but both cannot pluck the same
plum. His selfishness prompts him to secure that
plum if he can. In doing so he is only following
out the law of his being. Were it not to his advantage,
or thought to be so, this same selfishness
would point to another course of action. On the
other hand it is from no motives of good-will or
feelings of brotherly affection that rivals in trade
or manufacture associate or consolidate in order to
put an end to competition. In this or that direction
lies the greatest advantage to be gained, and
in this or that direction self-interest conducts business.
Nor does the stronger associate or consolidate
with the weaker in order not to exterminate
him. He would do so if he could with profit. But
by giving the weaker a share the stronger thereby
increases his own gain.
But the combinations and business consolidations
on the stupendous scale characteristic of the present
are of very modern origin. This is not because
our ancestors failed to see the enormous waste of
human energy brought about by competition. They
were keenly alive to the fact that a large part of
the labor expended in production and commerce
was lost from lack of a more perfect system. They
understood equalry well the denominating power
of the selfish motives of men which, under those

Images from this collection may be downloaded for non-commercial educational and research purposes on the condition that The University of South Dakota, Archives and Special Collections is credited as the source. For permission to use a particular item for any other purpose, such as publishing, video production, exhibits, product presentations, interior design, or advertising, you must contact The University of South Dakota, Archives and Special Collections. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright.